Since 2001, Chet Lukaszewski has assisted hundreds of injured individuals in securing compensation and benefits, via the various New York City and State Pension Funds and Retirement Systems, Social Security Disability, and personal injury matters. In 2008, Chet Lukaszewski formed Chet Lukaszewski, P.C. The mission of the firm is to present clients with a highly personal level of representation, and to parlay his exemplary history of litigation success, into an aggressive and effective means to assist injured individuals, in obtaining the benefits and compensation they are entitled to. Mr. Lukaszewski knows the value of client contact and interaction, and refuses to compromise the firm’s ability to ensure its clients the utmost in personal service. At Chet Lukaszewski, P.C., Mr. Lukaszewski himself will return your call, write your legal papers, and appear with or for you in Court or elsewhere; thereby providing each client with the direct benefit and impact of his knowledge, experience, and renowned litigation track record.

Chet Lukaszewski has successfully litigated 83 disability pension Article 78's, won 8 such Appellate Division matters, five of which were first of their kind decisions, as well as a landmark Court of Appeals 9/11 cancer case. ( SEE PENSION LITIGATION PAGE FOR SYNOPSIS OF ALL CASES ) The first of their kind decisions include:

a 'disability versus no disability' matter’, for an injured police officer; the first 9/11-World Trade Center disability pension decision in favor of a petitioner, for the widow of an FDNY Lieutenant; a decision compelling that an NYPD orthopedic disability pension application be found to have been improperly closed and be re-opened and amended to include a 'Heart Bill' application; a 9/11-World Trade Center Presumptive Law case involving sleep apnea; and a 9/11-WTC Law case involving Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In addition, in December of 2012, Mr. Lukaszewski successfully litigated a historic New York State Court of Appeals, 9/11-WTC Law cancer case. The ruling set a precedent which will benefit countless sick 9/11 responders and their families in the future, and will be a great asset to Chet Lukaszewski, P.C.'s clients. To the firm's knowledge, no other law office or individual has had as much success in this area of law. In addition, in December of 2012, Mr. Lukaszewski successfully litigated a landmark New York State Court of Appeals, first of its kind, 9/11-World Trade Center first responder cancer case. The ruling set a precedent which will benefit countless sick 9/11 responders and their families in the future, and will be a great asset to Chet Lukaszewski, P.C.'s clients. ( SEE ATTORNEY PROFILE FOR MORE ON MR. LUKASZEWSKI )

While working at both the Long Island and New York City offices of the top insurance defense firm, Ahmuty, Demers & McManus, Mr. Lukaszewski worked under the firm’s highest level of partners, including well renowned attorneys such as Mr. William Ahmuty, Mr. Fred Simpson and Mr. James Edwards. During this time he handled a variety of cases, including auto accident, premises liability, construction site litigation and insurance coverage matters. This experience allows Chet Lukaszewski, P.C. to provide top rate representation to its personal injury clients. In addition, for the firm’s personal injury work, Mr. Lukaszewski has enlisted the assistance of renowned veteran New York trial lawyer Harvey Lockhart, Esq., as special litigation counsel. Mr. Lockhart’s 40 years of experience, including 600(+) trials, provides clients with a level of experience and expertise that is rare and invaluable. Chet Lukaszewski, P.C., has handled personal injury cases since the firm’s inception, and is currently involved in an ever growing collection of such actions which involve a variety of issues and litigants, which includes non-civil servants as well as uniformed and non-uniformed civil servants injured in the line of duty.

Mr. Lukaszewski has handled Social Security Disability matters all across New York State, and possesses a Social Security Disability record which exceeds the average national success rate. In addition, Mr. Lukaszewski has experience in Agency Disqualifications, and Workers’ Compensation matters, and continues to handle such cases; along with 9/11 Victims’ Compensation Fund claims.

It is Mr. Lukaszewski's intent is to utilize his diverse and extensive litigation background and experience, in all areas of his practice. He believes his disability pension clients will greatly benefit from his pension litigation success; for he feels that based on his proven litigation track record, the City and State Pension Funds and Retirement Systems will be more hesitant to force his clients into the Courts, thereby presenting them with the greatest chance of success within the Funds and Systems. He also feels his training and experience in personal injury matters, and the trial team he has formed, will elicit the greatest returns for his personal injury clients; whether it be through generous settlement offers so as to avoid trial, or when necessary, the willingness and ability to try cases, and the experience and aptitude to be successful in doing so. And Mr. Lukaszewski feels his SSD success, and the success he has had in his other practice areas, will continue, based upon his experience and the case strategies he employs. Since becoming an attorney, and particularly since forming his firm, Mr. Lukaszewski has had great success for hundreds of clients; and looks forward to achieving the same for countless more far into the future.

Important News!

The 'World Trade Center Presumptive Law' has been amended to re-open the deadline to file a World Trade Center Notice of Participation form. The deadline is now September 11, 2015. Active and retired Pension Fund and Retirement System members who participated in 9/11-WTC rescue, recovery and clean-up efforts, but did not file said form with their pension agency before the original 2010 deadline, will now be able to do so in order to protect their eligibility to seek WTC benefits.

Recent Items

June, 2015 – New York State Bar Association Journal publishes Part II of article by Chet Lukaszewski, "Disability Determinations,

"Disability Determinations, Judicial Authority and CPLR Article 78", in June 2015 edition, following publication of Part I in May edition.

April 2015 - The Supreme Court, New York County, held that the NYC Teachers' Retirement System's denial of the petitioner's Accident Disability Retirement

application for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder resulting from a violent student attack to be unlawful, in a case where the System's Medical Board without explanation, ignored its own independent psychological expert who found the petitioner to be psychologically disabled as a result of the incident, the second of its type which petitioner suffered. The Court found the System and its Medical Board had acted arbitrarily and capriciously and remanded the application for a lawful consideration.

February 2015 - Following the Appellate Division, First Department's granting of Chet Lukaszewski, P.C.'s motion for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals,

and the firm's filing of its legal brief, the N.Y.C. Corporation Counsel's Office and the NYPD Pension Fund, award Accident Disability Retirement without the matter being heard by the Court of Appeals, based upon a reconsideration of the case and a decision that the petitioner's trip and fall over an unexpectedly 'charged' fire hose at a chaotic, commotion filled, smoky, crowded, nighttime, fast paced fire suppression and rescue scene, which permanently disabled him for police work, was in fact an "accident" for disability pension purposes.

November 2014 - The Supreme Court, New York County, held that the NYPD's Pension Fund's Board of Trustees and its Medical Board, had acted unlawfully in

denying Accident Disability Retirement, while approving Ordinary Disability Retirement, to a 41 year old Police Officer who required a three level fusion in his neck just two years after a violent head and neck injury in the line of duty, following which he suffered from neck and upper extremity issues, prior to which he had never experienced any neck issues. The Judge found that the Fund had essentially ignored the detailed explanation of the petitioner's surgeon, a renowned New York spine specialist, which demonstrated how the evidence established that the traumatic injury almost certainly exacerbated asymptomatic pre-existing conditions to the point of requiring major life altering surgery. The strongly worded decision condemned the implication by the respondents' that it was purely a coincidence that petitioner required said surgery following the accident, but that there was no connection between the two. The matter was remanded for a lawful consideration of the application.

December 18, 2013 – The news website, DNAinfo.Com News, New York edition, publishes story entitled: “9/11 Hero Suffering PTSD Says NYPD Won't Give Him Disability Pay”; in connection with the filing of a lawsuit by Chet Lukaszewski, P.C., challenging the refusal of the NYPD’s Pension Fund to award retroactive pension monies to a Police Officer who was finally approved for a World Trade Center disability pension,

following two successful lawsuits by the firm where the Court twice found the application had been denied improperly. The firm is seeking that the pension be awarded back to the date of the first improper denial, based upon the fact that the Officer’s psychological conditions are essentially identical now, as they were then, and that by refusing to award the pension retroactively, the Fund is benefiting financially from its own adjudicated wrongdoings which delayed the approval for 7 years. The Officer was in the Trade Center when the first plane hit, and cleared ten floors of Tower 1, and went in and out of the buildings 3 times before the collapse, and thereafter did nearly 200 hours of rescue and recovery work at Ground Zero.